Abstract :
Vacuum infusion is a refinement of a composite fabrication technology from
the hand lay-up and vacuum bagging methods. The purpose of this study was to
determine the process of using a vacuum infusion device for composite
manufacturing and to determine the strength of the bending test specimen on the E-
glass WR 200 composite using the vacuum infusion method with variation of
vacuum pump pressure.
In this study using vacuum infusion method, which is a close molding
process method for making composites that uses low pressure applications to
regulate the resin into a lamina. The composite manufacturing process using 3
pressure variations of -80 KPa, -90 KPa, -100 KPa. Then the bending test was
carried out according to ASTM D790-02.
From the bending test results, it can be seen that the average value of the
bending stress of the composite vacuum infusion method with a pressure of -100
KPa has the highest average stress value of 162.003 MPa compared to a pressure
of -80 KPa which is 155.564 MPa and a pressure of -90 KPa which is 150.705
MPa. This can be made possible during the specimen manufacturing process using
a vacuum infusion with a pressure of -100 kPa, the work area / specimen mold is in
a state that is really pressed. For this reason, it is possible for no air to be trapped
in the specimen area during the vacuum process, resulting in no voids in the
composite.